The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Dry-type sprinklers for fire protection systems have been available for many years. The dry-type sprinklers can be installed in either an upright, a pendant or a horizontal position, according to design. Generally speaking, dry pipe sprinklers comprise a sprinkler adapted to be installed in a piping system, the sprinkler having a valve at the inlet end to prevent water or other fire extinguishing fluid in the pipeline from entering the sprinkler until the sprinkler is put into operation by collapse of a thermally responsive mechanism. The valve end of the sprinkler is screwed into or otherwise attached to a fitting in the water supply piping. This type of dry-pipe sprinkler is particularly useful for suppression or controlling a fire situation in a warehouse area that is generally controlled to maintain a temperature below freezing for the fire suppressant liquid. In many warehouse coolers and freezers, the compartment that is controlled at a cool or freezing temperature is a box enclosure within a heated warehouse or building compartment. The sprinkler system desired for control or suppression against fire is typically a wet pipe system that includes water or fire suppressant pressurized up to the sprinkler assembly for rapid discharge of fluid or gas at the time of operation of the heat sensitive sprinkler trigger assembly. The use of dry horizontal sidewall sprinklers in a cooler or freezer environment, is known, however, the assembly of the dry horizontal sidewall sprinklers is complicated as the water supply pipe is typically disposed above the cooler or freezer compartment and a series of drop-down fittings and pipes are required to connect the dry horizontal sidewall sprinkler to the water supply line.